Curiosity and Packs
by James8
Summary: Pippin decides to find out more about his companions.
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I do not own. Tolkien does. Enough said.  
  
Sorry guys for not dropping any stories of in the last month. I had a bad case of writer's block which just wouldn't go away. I am going to try to pace myself this time so it doesn't happen again.  
  
And for all you concerned about my health I guareentee I'm alive, healthy, and kicking. No worries.  
  
I don't know if I'm going to continue this story or not. I think I'm going to but we'll see. I already have two stories I'm working on currently. One will be a rewrite of an older story (Manders keep your shorts on!) and a newer one with a young Legolas. Both depend on my beta right now.  
  
So as always love to hear from you and hope you enjoy the show. 


	2. Aragorn's Pack

Curiosity and Packs  
  
No one stirred in the sleeping camp where the Fellowship lay. Gandalf who was on watch had decided to circle the perimeter of the camp. Aragorn lay asleep beside the fire totally unaware of the small dark shadow sneaking ever closer. Aragorn mumbled in his sleep causing the small being who was sneaking toward him to duck down. When the ranger didn't move again the silhouette snuck even closer. Coming within a foot of the man, the small figure stuck out a hand snagging the ranger's pack and pulled it back toward him.  
  
Pippin, pleased with himself, quickly made his way to the other side of the camp were he promptly upended the contents of the sack. He sat down amidst the scattered belongings.  
  
His curiosity about this man had been driving him wild. He had come to the conclusion that if he wanted to know the man better, what way than to browse through his personal belongings. A person's things told a great deal about them, his mother had once said. Of course, she probably didn't mean for her son to search through someone else's belongings either, especially without that persons knowledge of it.  
  
Aragorn had been a walking secret to Pippin and the youth had decided it was high time to unravel the mystery surrounding the man. Strider seemed to know all there was to know about everything. Pippin couldn't imagine living alone out in the wild like this man had done, nor becoming such a swordsman either. The ranger was the kind of man you heard about in Bilbo's stories.  
  
When Pippin emptied the pack he found that the ranger carried another set of pants and two extra shirts in his pack, which to Pippin's mind was strange. The man didn't seemed inclined to change his clothes. Other toiletries graced the pack also. Maybe Aragorn needed someone to show him how to use the objects. Of course that didn't make much sense as in Rivendell he looked like a Prince among the elves. Maybe the elves had dressed him.   
  
Odd. There were two rocks in the man's belongings. After a moment of scrutiny Pippin decided that one was flint. The other one he thought might be for sharpening the sword.  
  
A small leather bound book was also there. It was written in elvish so he had no idea what it was about. That was rather disappointing as he had high hopes for some good stories. There were various other objects pressed between the pages; a small yellow flower, a drawing of a man and woman, the man resembling Aragorn, another drawing of Lord Elrond and his sons, a silk ribbon of lavender, and yet another drawing this time of Arwen.  
  
Wrapped in a piece of silk he found a star shaped broach of incredible beauty. It seemed to shine with an inner light, like a star. He hastily wrapped it back up again afraid someone would awaken noticing the glitter.  
  
Pippin sucked his finger sulkily. He had pricked his finger on an arrowhead. It was a strange design. Nothing like what Aragorn or Legolas carried on their arrows. It was a rough made one and had no style to it. Why would Strider be carrying this thing around?  
  
The last thing Pippin found was a small pack made of leather and wood. He recognized it immediately. It was Strider's medicinal pack. He had seen it before when they had traveled to Rivendell. He eagerly opened it finding small jars and packets arrayed neatly on one side and bandages, needles, and threads on the other.  
  
He opened a jar of oil with almost a purplish tint. He sniffed at it carefully and was pleased to find the smell of lavender. That was nice. It reminded him of home.   
  
The next one he opened had the scent of thyme.   
  
Eagerly he smelled the next one and had to stop himself from gagging. That one was nasty. Yuck.  
  
He opened one of the packets sniffing tentatively. It didn't really have any smell that he could tell.   
  
He opened a jar of powder next. He sniffed at it only to end up sneezing. Some of the powder spilled onto his hands. He wiped it off on his shirt before rubbing his nose. Eww.  
  
"Peregrin Took!"  
  
At the angry voice, Pippin nearly leaped out of his skin with a startled squeak. He hastily turned around trying to hide the pack and it's belongings behind his back. "Yes Gandalf?" He said with an air of innocence.  
  
"What are you doing with Aragorn's pack?"  
  
"Ah, nothing."  
  
"Then why are the contents of his pack scattered all over the ground?"  
  
"I was just curious!" Pippin exclaimed.  
  
Gandalf raised a bushy eyebrow. "I suggest you put everything away and return it to Aragorn, understood?"  
  
Pippin nodded eagerly. As he packed the items back in the bag, a little less neatly then they had been, he began to notice a burning sensation on his hands. At first he rubbed them trying to dismiss it but the irritation persisted. Finally with a feeling of dread he turned to Gandalf. "Gandalf?"  
  
"Yes Pippin?"  
  
"Umm," Pippin stalled rubbing at his hands.   
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
"My hands hurt." Pippin shook his hands. "Oww. They really hurt."  
  
"Well don't rub at them! Let me see." Gandalf admonished him, moving closer the fire. In the fire's glow Pippin's hands were red and beginning to swell. Pippin's eyes grew wide and he whimpered unhappily. "Fool of a Took! Your curiosity is going to get the better of you one of these days. Don't rub them! Aragorn!"  
  
The ranger started at the commanding voice but so did half the camp. Aragorn climbed to his feet all traces of sleep gone. "Gandalf? What's wrong?"  
  
Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas had also woken and moved towards the pair.   
  
"What's going on?" asked Boromir.  
  
"I think Pippin is having an allergic reaction to something in Aragorn's pack." Gandalf replied calmly.  
  
Aragorn knelt in front of Pippin taking the swollen hands into his own. "My pack?"  
  
"I was just curious!" Pippin wailed.   
  
The warriors shared a look, a hint of a smile on their faces.  
  
"Pippin don't rub them!" Aragorn commanded gently. "You're only going to make them worse."   
  
"They're burning!" Pippin began to cry.  
  
"I know, I know, you have to tell me which stuff you got on your hands." Aragorn soothed. "Pippin I can't do anything until you tell me. Now calm down."  
  
Pippin sniffed large tears rolling down his cheeks. "It was a jar...there was some kind of powder in it."  
  
Aragorn quickly rummaged through his pack pulling out the jar. "This one Pippin?"  
  
Pippin nodded.  
  
Aragorn sighed. "Keep still. I am going to look for the plant we need."  
  
"Can't you rinse his hands with water?" Boromir asked unable to stand the younger hobbit in tears.  
  
"No, it reacts to water and will make it worse." Aragorn replied. "Legolas come with me I'll tell you what we're looking for as we search. Gimli, can you get some water boiling? And for Valar's sake don't let him rub his hands."   
  
  
  
"Pippin stop." Boromir charged. He sat down and pulled the young hobbit into his lap and trapped the wrists in his hands.   
  
"But it hurts!" Pippin wailed even louder.  
  
"Pip?"  
  
"Merry! It hurts!" Pippin cried seeing his cousin stirring.  
  
That woke the other three hobbits up. In no time the elder of Pippin's cousins converged on him. They began speaking at once, demanding Boromir to let Pippin go, and wanting to know what was wrong. Gandalf waded in saving Boromir from a tongue-lashing.  
  
"Enough!" Gandalf said sternly. "Pippin spilled a powder on his hands. He is having an allergic reaction and that is why Boromir is holding him. Aragorn and Legolas are searching for the cure. In the mean time everyone calm down!"  
  
Frodo cocked his head as he stared at the wizard. "You don't seem quite so calm yourself."  
  
There was dead silence in the camp. Everyone looked from Frodo to Gandalf warily. The two stared at each other a long time before they started to shake, laughter boiling up between them.   
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Aragorn and Legolas made their way back to camp to find a much lighter atmosphere then when they left. Sam had started to cook a small meal while Frodo and Merry shared stories of their misadventures. Pippin seemed suitably distracted from where he was perched on Boromir's lap. The young lad was no longer in tears and made sure to add his own two cents in on the tales being told.  
  
Aragorn quickly ground the plant onto a paste before applying it to Pippin's itching hands. Pip also lost his shirt, which was thoroughly washed in the nearby stream when Aragorn discovered traces of the powder on it.  
  
All in all it took quite a while for the camp to settle down for the evening. The hobbits bundled Pippin off to the middle of their hobbit pile as they settled down to sleep. The only other sounds of the camp were the crackling of the fire and Aragorn mumbling as he rearranged the contents of his pack.  
  
One thought was foremost in Pippin's mind as he drifted off to sleep. 'I wonder what Legolas has in his pack?' 


	3. Legolas' Pack

Legolas' Pack  
  
Merry awoke to the sounds of shuffling close by and his cousin's warmth gone. Confused but not concerned, he rolled over to find Pippin sitting with his back to him. "Pip?"  
  
"Yes Merry?"  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
That brought Merry awake. Pippin was never doing "nothing", especially when he said he was doing nothing. Merry quickly rolled over, sitting up, until he could see exactly what Pippin was doing. To his utter dismay he found Legolas' pack sitting in front of Pip it's contents spread out upon the ground.   
  
"Peregrin! What are you doing?!" Merry asked aghast. "That's Legolas' pack!"   
  
"I'm just looking!" Pippin replied defensively.  
  
"Pippin! You were just looking when you where in Aragorn's pack and do you remember how that went?"  
  
"Yes but I'm not going to open anything this time." Pippin replied logically. "Look at this stuff Merry, isn't it fascinating?"  
  
Knowing better, but unable to hide his own curiosity, Merry looked over the elf's belongings.  
  
"What are you two doing?"  
  
Merry and Pippin both startled at the ranger's quiet voice.  
  
"Nothing," they replied in unison moving to hide Legolas' knapsack.   
  
Aragorn moved to where he was able to see behind them. "Isn't that Legolas' pack?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes it is! That's Legolas' pack!"   
  
"We were just looking!" Pippin wailed.  
  
Aragorn sat down beside them pulling the backpack into his lap. "Let me see."   
  
The two hobbits shared a look before turning their gaze to the ranger.  
  
Aragorn looked between them in confusion. "What?"  
  
"Never mind." Merry muttered.  
  
"Strider who is this picture of?" Pippin directed the ranger's attention to a piece of paper.  
  
Aragorn took the picture. An elf man and woman were pictured together sitting under a tree in the garden. "This is Legolas' father and mother."  
  
"Did you ever meet them?" asked Merry.  
  
"Thranduil many times, Legolas' mother sailed to the undying lands long before I was born." Aragorn explained carefully folding the paper back up.   
  
Merry reached over pulling a small wooden box over, the top inscribed with the seal that was also engraved into the handles of Legolas' knives. He opened it to find arrowheads, feathers, a small knife, a sharpening stone, and various other tools he could not name. He showed the contents to Aragorn.  
  
"That would be a repair kit for Legolas' bow or if he would need to make more arrows." Strider explained.  
  
"What about the seal? I have seen it on Legolas' things before." Pippin asked.  
  
"It's the seal of Legolas' house. It's worked into all of his belongings even his clothes. It's a way of identification. Another elf would know where Legolas is from if he would be hurt."  
  
"Wouldn't that be dangerous for him, I mean being a Prince and all?" Merry asked brow furrowed in confusion.  
  
"Elves are not men, they very rarely mean harm to each other," Strider replied slowly, "There are exceptions though. Many men would not know what the emblems means, so in the company of men his identity would be a secret unless he said otherwise."  
  
Pippin folded and placed an extra shirt that Legolas carried to the side along with a soft bristled hairbrush and other toiletries. He looked around at the other contents of the pack searchingly. "Where is Legolas' cloak?"  
  
Aragorn hesitated but Merry already knew. "He gave it to Sam didn't he?"  
  
"Yes." Aragorn replied.  
  
"What is this?" Pippin asked suddenly holding out a small leather ball.  
  
Aragorn chuckled at seeing it. "It is a toy."  
  
Merry raised his eyebrows. "A toy?"  
  
"A game. A lot of young elves play games like this. It teaches them coordination and reflexes." Aragorn explained. "The elf has to keep the ball in the air without touching it with his hands. It's not so bad by yourself but wait until you're in a group, especially if you're the only human in the group."   
  
Merry laughed. "Did you have trouble Strider?"  
  
"Yeah well, playing with Legolas and my brothers wasn't exactly fair." Aragorn replied dryly.  
  
"Legolas must have a thing for toys, here's another one." Merry replied holding up a small wooden carving of a horse.  
  
"That's a beautiful horse." Pippin replied taking it from his cousin.  
  
"I can't believe he kept it." Aragorn muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The horse." Aragorn replied carefully taking it from Pippin. "You see I made this. When I first met Legolas I had been working on this carving, it took me quite a while too. I gave it to him later."  
  
"You two are good friends aren't you?" Pippin asked eagerly.  
  
"Yes. We've known each other for nearly sixty years."  
  
"How did you two meet?" Merry asked eagerly.  
  
"It's a long story." Aragorn laughed. "I'm not telling it tonight either." Aragorn reached for another object but stopped short feeling the press of a knife against his throat. The hobbits just as startled froze. Aragorn turned his head carefully to look up into glittering eyes. He tried to smile. "Hello Legolas."  
  
Legolas didn't reply only pressed the knife against the ranger's throat a little harder forcing Aragorn to scramble to his feet or be decapitated.  
  
"Legolas you're scaring the hobbits." Aragorn protested.  
  
Legolas didn't even spare the hobbits a glance as he forced Aragorn back until he was against the tree keeping the knife level with his throat. "Remember once, long ago, 'Human' I had warned you to stay out of my things."  
  
"But Legolas-"  
  
"Silence!" Legolas commanded. "This time Mithrandir will not save you."  
  
Two sets of arms latched onto Legolas fiercely.   
  
"Legolas it was me that stole your pack!" Pippin wailed.   
  
"Please Legolas." Merry pleaded. "Don't hurt Strider!"  
  
"Gandalf may be quite upset if you injure me." Aragorn added. "Anyhow doesn't that day bring back pleasant memories?"  
  
"No." Legolas answered shortly. "What I do remember was being attacked by spiders, rendered unconscious, and waking up to find a human looking through my belongings."  
  
"And I think that's were I came in."  
  
The hobbits sighed in relief as Gandalf made his way over to the group. "Legolas let him go."  
  
"But Gandalf he's doing it again!" Legolas sighed.  
  
Gandalf chuckled. "You should know our Estel by now. He has to touch and explore everything."  
  
Legolas with a discouraged sigh released the knife from Aragorn's throat. Aragorn visibly slumped against the tree in relief.   
  
Merry looked between Legolas and Aragorn in wonder. "That must have been some meeting." 


End file.
